My boyfriend is addicted to vicodine, he has chronic pain and been on this drug for many years,?

... recently he was cut off. he does find them sometimes, but otherwise he hits the beer or alcohol to ease his pain?? I work in the health care industry and finding it very hard to cope with this. anyone have any resources or idea's on how i can help him without getting so frustrated?

Responses (4)

Okay if he has a problem with addiction I would look for a suboxone doctor it is a drug used to get rid of the withdrawal and he wont get sick while on it it has an opiate in it but also has a drug that will block other opiates if used and he will get his life back. Chronic pain is subjective... what is this chronic pain? and why was he cut off? how much vicodin was he taking? what mg? also for opiate withdrawal google the 'Thomas recipe' it is his account of when he got off pain killers what he went through and what he took to help ease the withdrawl its a list of over the counter medicines that really do help if he can get a hold of a script of valium it really would help with withdrawal because he is in a lot of pain and cant sleep if he is in withdrawal just message me if you have anymore questions I hope he gets clean soon takecare and godbless trust me I'm going through a addiction of vicodin right now ive been clean for 9 days I was taking 27 vicodin everyday

thank you so much, I don't think he wants help. he dont think he has a problem with it, he's been taking them for about 6 years and he took about 5mg every few hours, he has it in his head that thats the only thing that works for his pain, now that he cant get them he tries to get them off the street, and if he cant get them he turns to alcohol. he was alcohol free for five years and as soon as he got cut off the vicodin he started drinking again, I think it's a losing cause, he wil do whatever he wants, i'm really lost i dont know what to do, but thanks for your thoughts I appreciate everything or any advice.

Very sorry to hear the predicament your boyfriend is in. So much depends on the type of chronic pain he has. There could very well be good reason he needs the vicodin. So naturally when he's cut off from getting pain relief he needs, it's no surprise he'll turn to another form of "drug" such as alcohol to relieve the pain. As souldreaper suggested, Suboxone is great for stopping the cravings for opiates and keeps the person from the awful side effects of withdrawals. It is NOT however prescribed for chronic pain. Has he ever been diagnosed with a condition that causes chronic pain? If so, please try to find him a pain specialist who can treat the pain properly without having to take so many vicodins. Chronic pain is very difficult to deal with. Just as hard (if not harder) then dealing with addiction.

So I'm not understanding why the rush to cut him off from pain meds if he is in pain? Was he cut off from his doctor for taking too many? Since you work in the health care industry, you must know that chronic pain (unless the underlying cause is treated) never goes away and usually the person will need dose adjustments on their medications. There are safer alternatives then vicodin. Please try to get him in to see a pain specialist. Otherwise you may be looking at lots more frustration if his chronic pain is not treated properly.

Best wishes to you. And I hope you find the underlying cause of this pain.

If he really wants to quit maybe try methadone. It is something he has to be very committed to and not use methadone to get high. Methadone will take away all the withdrawal symptoms, but if he is still looking for the high its no use cuz chances r he will get addicted to it too. I am in meth treatment and it is working well for me, but will only do the same for him if he uses it the right way. GOOD LUCK PEOPLE DON'T REALIZE HOW ADDICTIVE LORTAB, VICODIN, AND ALL OPIATES R A SERIOUS ADDICTION. I NEVER THOUGHT IT WOULD HAPPEN TO ME WHEN MY BACK WENT OUT, BUT IT DID. If he doesn't seek help in one form or another it can lead to heroin. I never got that far. I have a very supportive hubby and if it wasn't for him I would not be where I am today. As hard as I know it is please support him and give him time to do the right thing.

I want to wish you the best of luck, I'm sure it's not an easy task. my boyfriend does not want help, he don't even think that he's "addicted" and he is. The first thing is to admit and recognize the addiction; you did that, you should be very proud of yourself:) I'm trying to be very patient and supportive, but really the only way he wants my support is to get him drugs, I came home tonight from work and he's been drinking all by himself and says he's "self medicating" I work full time and i go to school, it's really hard when you don't really know what your going to come home to, I don't know how to support him, he don't want to quit, he thinks that is the only thing that will work for the pain. I feel very useless and frustrated.

thank you so much for your infomative comments:), but he's been to a pain specialist and they want to do back surgery, he doesnt want that right now; they cut him off the vicodin. We already know what is causing his pain, he was in an accident in which he was basically buried alive, it affects his back and legs, he basically had is leg rebuilt. dpickle, if I could get him to have more sex, trust me i would... anyway I'm trying really hard to be patient and get another opinion from a different specialist; though I'm so against the idea of him being on vicodin, I wish they would just give it back to him, he just sleeps all the time, he's crabby, and all he talks about is his pain. I know he's in pain but there is nothing I can do about it because all he wants is thep pills. I really feel bad that he hurts all the time, and I'm so far very patient with him, but I take care of people all day that can hardly walk and I come home and have to listen for another eight hours, I'm not sure; at my age anyway, how much longer I can handle this.